NEWLY-CROWNED Saga Masters champion John Higgins had to produce another superb comeback to avoid a shock defeat at the Malta Cup in Portomaso last night.

Higgins pulled off a memorable 64 clearance to edge Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-9 on the final black at Wembley, earning himself #125,000 in the process.

But he looked set to be brought sharply down to earth by Gloucester's Robert Milkins, who led 4-2 before Higgins fought back to win 5-4.

"When things are going well for you then the little bits of luck tend to go your way and that's what happened," admitted Higgins, who is looking for his second ranking title of the season after winning the Grand Prix last October.

"The money was great at the Masters but there were no ranking points to go with it so it's important to do well here. It would have been disappointing to lose so early and not feel involved in the tournament."

Milkins led 50-0 in the eighth frame but missed a black with a good chance to complete a 5-3 victory.

Higgins eventually won that frame on the blue and controlled the decider to set up a second round meeting with fellow Scot Alan McManus.

"I've played worse in matches and won so I was getting ready to say Robert had played well, good luck to him," added Higgins.